The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by the

Sturlungar The Sturlungs ( Icelandic: ) were a powerful family clan in 13th century Iceland, in the time of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Their story is partly told in ''Sturlunga saga'', and members of the clan were significant participants in the civil war ...

against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the time between various powerful clans during the time known as the

Age of the Sturlungs The Age of the Sturlungs or the Sturlung Era ( is, Sturlungaöld ) was a 42–44 year period of violent internal strife in mid-13th century Iceland. It is documented in the Sturlunga saga. This period is marked by the conflicts of local chieftai ...

. The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was fought on 21 August 1238 between

Sighvatur Sturluson Sighvatr Sturluson (Old Norse: ; given name also ''Sigvatr'' ; Modern Icelandic: ''Sighvatur Sturluson'' ; c. 1170 – 1238) was a skaldic poet, ''goði'' and member of the Icelandic Sturlungar clan. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson of H ...

(brother of

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

) and his son

Sturla Sighvatsson Sturla Sighvatsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 1199 – 21 August 1238) was an Icelandic chieftain or ''goði'' of the Sturlungar family clan who played an active role in the armed conflicts in Iceland during the Age of the Sturlungs (Ic ...

on the one hand, and Kolbeinn ungi and

Gissur Þorvaldsson Gissur Thorvaldsson (1208 – 12 January 1268; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was a medieval Icelandic chieftain or ''goði'' of the Haukdælir family clan, and great-grandson of Jón Loftsson. Gissur played a major role in the period of ...

(later Earl Gissur) on the other. Sighvatur had nearly 500 men but there is no evidence available of the size of Sturla's following. Nonetheless, historians estimate that the Sturlungar had a total of 1000 men. Gissur and Kolbeinn had almost 1700 men in total. The areas controlled by the Sturlungar were more populous but the settlements were more scattered which made it difficult for the Sturlungar to assemble fighting men. The Ásbirningar and Haukdælir clans emerged victorious after a short battle. Over 50 men were killed on that day, including Sighvatur and Sturla. According to the Saga of the Icelanders, Gissur only lost seven men whereas Kolbeinn lost none. Five others, including

Þórir Jökull Steinfinnsson Þórir jökull Steinfinnsson was an Icelandic 13th century warrior and possibly a skald. Overview Life Þórir was captured following the Battle of Örlygsstaðir, fought on August 21, 1238. He was executed along with five others, whose names ar ...

, were executed by beheading following the battle. The names of those who perished on that day are recorded in the ''

Íslendinga saga ''Íslendinga saga'' ''(Saga of Icelanders)'' makes up a large part of '' Sturlunga saga'', a compilation of secular contemporary sagas written in thirteenth-century Iceland. The ''terminus ante quem'' of the compilation is disputed (between the ...

'' which is included as a part of the ''

Sturlunga saga ''Sturlunga saga'' (often called simply ''Sturlunga'') is a collection of Icelandic sagas by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300. It mostly deals with the story of the Sturlungs, a powerful family clan ...

''. In 1988, a memorial was raised on the site of the battle, which describes the battle.

References

Other sources

* Jón Jóhannesson, Magnús Finnbogason and Kristján Eldjárn (eds.) ''Sturlunga Saga'', Vol 1 & 2, (Sturlunguútgáfan, Reykjavík: 1946) * Árni Daníel Júlíusson, Jón Ólafur Ísberg, Helgi Skúli Kjartansson ''Íslenskur sögu atlas: Volume 1, Frá öndverðu til 18. aldar'' (Almenna bókafélagið, Reykjavík: 1989) 1238 in Europe 13th century in Iceland Orlygsstadir Orlygsstadir {{iceland-stub